2015 Year in Review

Happy 2016! Here is my yearly knitting year in review.

2015 was a year of cold sheeping. Overall I knitted from stash and it was great. I did break the cold sheep in the fall for the Air MKAL.  I have next to no lace weight yarn in my stash. Knitting Air reminds me why I have very little lace weight in my stash. Brutal.

Projects completed in 2015

Toys 2, a guinea pig version of our piggy Peppermint and a Sock Monkey for H. Sock Monkey is out of Felici and it looks like he is wearing booty shorts, super cute.

Hats 8  pretty straight forward.

Socks 3 pair

Sweaters 2  One was E's Hermione sweater, it was a beast.

Cowls 2

Shawls 5 fun stuff

WIPS that moved over into 2016 one cowl, Willow Cowl, simple yet not boring knit.  One Dragon toy, challenging knit over on Kim Harrison's blog.  The wings are done.

That works out to 22 finished objects in 2015.  Not bad. I continue to knit but not as much as before.

Happy New Year ones of readers!

2014 Knitting Year in Review

Hello and Goodbye to 2014.

Let's run down my FO's shall we?

4 shawls, two Stephen West designs, love his funky design sense.

7 hats.

5 Hedgies, including one Extra Special Hedgie for the Ravellenic Games.  The political ridiculousness in Sochi dampened the usual Olympic joy.  So I knitted a Rainbow Hedgie for Educational purposes.  Hedgie turned out super cute and educational.  You can see the short row sections in the back quite nicely. 

Ravellenic Rainbowllenic Rainbow Construction Educational Funtimes Hedgie

Ravelry Project Link

7 dishcloths knitted on handmade wooden straights for an online buddy.  Her Grandfather made the needles and she gifted them to me.  I realized that I tend to drop, more like throw, my needle when I'm done with a row. This is not a big deal when using circs but it is annoying when using straights.

4 bricks for the  Secular Coalition of America.

1 lap blanket using the massive Palette stash.

1 pair of super complicated kilt hose for the husband. I'd not knitted socks in two years.  This was my most challenging pair of socks to date.  One month and a day of knitting.

1 Weasley sweater for the son, it turned out huge, but he continues to grow so no worries.

I am so close to being done with a Hermione Cardigan for daughter, but it is not getting done in 2014.

That brings us to a grand total of 30 finished projects in 2014.  Hooray for me!  Looking back I'm focusing on more complex knitting.  The kilt hose were ridiculous but I got them finished. The Hermione Cardigan I'm currently working on had a crazy stranded yoke.

I continue to knit for me by my rules.  Knitting brings me comfort and a creative outlet.

Goals for 2015

Dare I even think about cold sheeping?  I have a great little stash. I'm thinking it is time to knit down the stash a bit.

I plan to continue to challenge my skill set and try new techniques.

Knitting will continue to be something for me. 

Hello, old friend

Oh knit blog you are so neglected.

I could have sworn I did a 2013 Year in Review but apparently I did not.

I completed 23 projects in 2013 including one massive fingering weight garter stitch blanket, six sweaters, four hats, one cowl, one pair of mittens, four shawls, four toys, and two dishcloths.

The Alber's Blanket

This was a massive undertaking for me. I found Homage to a Square blocks I liked online and then attempted to recreate them as close as I could manage in Knit Picks Palette.  I'm in love with the blanket.  Oh and the squares are in chronological order in which Albers painted them starting with 1951 in the top left and 1969 in the bottom right.

Happy Knitting!

Ravellenic Games Medal Ceremony

Behold Rainbow Construction Educational Funtimes Hedgie  He turned out fabulous. I'm so pleased with this project.  You can see the short row sections on the back.  So educational, so fun, so colorful.

Thank You 2012

Time for my 2012 Knitting Year in Review!  This is the time that I look back on my FO's and look forward to the next year.

Here we go!

Cowls  5, I'm counting Dad's Knightly hat/cowl combo as a cowl.

Hats  7

Shawls/Scarves  10, four were those ruffle yarn scarves, four were Stephen West designs and 2 were lace.

Albers Square Project  this is ongoing.  First four squares!  The must recent one was a bit screwed up color wise but it's still a usable square.  Will reknit it when I'm ready.

Feet thigns 2  First pair of socks in nearly two years and one pair of baby booties.

One non Hedgie Toy.  Set of three Grumpy Lumps Coal.  Counting as one.

Dishcloths 15 I love a good dishcloth.

Illusion Knitting 2  Sort of like big dishcloths.  Mockingjay pattern.

Sweaters  2  Both cotton summer sweaters.

Hedgies FVIE!  Back to the Hedgie Love.  Four were gifted, one had fun fur melty felty issues.  Love the Hedgies.

I total 53 FO's for 2012!  Lower number then previous years but no worries.  I continued to enjoy my knitting.  I participated in 3 mystery KAL's.  One Stephen West's Rockefeller, a lace shawl and a Mystery Sock.  Then I completed 4 projects in Stephen West's ChoreoKnit KAL.

Today I cast on my Birthday Malabrigo Rasta for a seed stitch Mobius Cowl.  I followed Cat Bordhi's Mobius Cast on.

The cast on is ingenious and the yarn is a soft fluffy dream!  I'm knitting with Grandma J's size 15 old school Addi Turbos.  Love!  Only cat on 45 so it's going to be a bit on the snug side, but no worries.  Going to do Jenny's SSBO in purl for the bind off.

I don't really have any resolutions for 2013 other to enjoy life and knitting.  I'm grateful for my many blessings.



Happy Knitting!

Flurries Cowl

Greetings!  Thanks to a heads up from my Knit Knite Bud Kristie I'm participating in the Feministy The Great Cowl KAL.

I'm stashdiving for this KAL.  Check out this Grandma J Stash ball of old school Bernat 50/50.  It's a wool acrylic blend sport weight.  It has a nice feel to it, soft but not squeaky at all.  I love that I could find a small project for this yarn. I even had a bit left over to keep in the stash.

Here's the completed cowl.  (Ravelry project page)  The kids and I raided my button stash for buttons. They are a bit too big, but I was honestly not planning on doing the suggested eight buttons.  It's a fun little cowl.  This was my first even remotely successful attempt at Brioche stitch.  

There is still time to head on over to Feministy.com to knit up a Flurries Cowl by 2/8/2012 8PM CST to receive the next pattern in the KAL for free.  The next pattern is A Very Good Cowl Indeed.  Looking forward to it.

Happy Knitting!

2011 Year in Review

Well Hello neglected Knitting Blog. I'm knitting, and reading and currently doing a ton of laundry.

Ok, I'm in between knitting projects at the very moment. I'm thinking of knitting a Whisper Cardigan in some Knit Picks laceweight but have not cast on yet.

Here is the 2011 year in review. Overall this was a good year for knitting. I was not as prolific as previous years. Here's the roundup of finished objects.

21 Dishcloths I knitted a dishcloth or two between most of my larger projects. It was a great way to take a bit of a break yet still feel productive. I gifted them every now and then over the year.

3 Sweaters I knitted Foliage Wrap, great design, wonderful sweater, my pictures of it are terrible. I have a new camera, yay! Nothing fancy, point and shoot for me, but it's green and it does not have battery issues like my old camera. Should take a new pic of the Foliage Wrap. Then I knitted Tarte, it turned out ok but not great.

Then there was Rambling Rose. Two and a half months of knitting, pretty much monogamous. It was a bit of a beast but I feel that I kicked up my intarsia skill set and I have a nice finished cardigan to show for my effort and time.

16 hats Love hats, love Stephen West hats.

1 Giant Harry Potter Illusion knit. Fabulous pattern, great yarn choice. Great FO.

2 pair of Duffers. fun little pattern.

2 Shawls

2 Cowls After the 2010 Cowl a thon I feel like I knit no cowls

2 stuffed toys, not hedgies

5 Hedgies After a nearly year long Hedgie drought I knit up five. I love this pattern.

1 Tissue cover for D's new office cube.


Sixty projects in total. Not a bad year. Would like to be a bit more focused this year. Who knows. Knitting is for fun for me not a job.

I have a list of goals for 2012 Knitting.

Lace

Try out new yarns

Learn the Mobius cast on

Hedgies = Happy, more Hedgies in 2012

Socks? Not really missing sock knitting. We shall see.

Basically I want to keep knitting, keep trying out new to me yarn and learning new techniques. That and continue to have fun knitting socially with my Knit Knite crew.

Happy Knitting!

2011 so far...an April Update

Well Hello 2011. Time for an FO update.

I have a new WIP system in place, at least for now. The basic idea is that I knit a cotton dishcloth between each larger project. Knit something big, then knit a dishcloth. Can't quiet decide on what to knit next? Knit a dishcloth. Still can't decide what to knit next? Knit yet another dishcloth.

Let's just say I've been having some trouble deciding what to knit next. I've knitted 12 dishcloths so far this year. I really like having a low stress, easy, fast, inexpensive go to project for in between more involved projects.

I like solid, nubby dishcloths. My top three favorite patterns are Chinese Waves, Clover Tweed, and Tweedish Cloth.

I busted out Grandma J's size 19 straights and some Lion Brand Thick and Quick for a much loved (Ravelry link) Foliage Wrap. My pictures do not do it justice. It's a fabulous, ingenious, multi functional wrap. I can wear it at least three ways, if not more with a lovely shawl pin. It does not take that much yarn. It's amazing.

Let's see I tried out the new to me Paton's and Bernat Roving yarn. Knit up a hat I intended to mail to my Aunt Debbie and failed to mail. I screwed up reading the pattern on that one. The hat is perfectly lovely, just not exactly to pattern. The roving is nice, easy to find at JoAnn's and not that expensive.

I felted two pairs of Duffers, aka 19/21 row slippers. The first out of Paton's Classic Merino and the more substantial second pair out of the Roving. I love and wear the roving pair. I hand felted the roving pair. I've officially decided that I do not like felting in my front loader. I found a few youtube videos on hand felting. That's the new felting method of choice around here.

I knit the Harry Potter Illusion Banner for my ever knitworthy sister. Steve Plummer's patterns are clear, easy to follow and overall just awesome. I used Carron One Pound's in Sunflower and Claret. Excellent yardage, machine washable, not too squeaky, no joins, great colors. I don't usually enjoy large projects but this one was different every other row. It grew big and a bit cumbersome but was fine for winter knitting. This sized project would be miserable in the summer in the heat. Overall a great project and a much loved FO.

I continue to LOVE NORO. I knit a Rainbow Pimpelliese in Noro sock. This is my second side to side shawl in Noro. The colors are fabulous and the project was simple with just enough interest in the edging to keep it from being too boring. I am now out of Noro. I'm thinking of switching to Silk Garden sock for lace after squishing several Knit Knite projects in Silk Garden. Same great colors but softer yarn.

I bought four skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Shocking Pink for my birthday. I knit up Hawthorne from Twist Collective, it used a tad over two skeins and the large sized Brambles from Knitty. Can we say awesome projects. LOVED both of them. I learned German Twisted Cast On for Hawthorne and used Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Cast Off. LOVE this set. I am all ready for next winter.

I am currently working on a summer sweater. Tarte by Berroco. I'm heavily modding it to be in the round and to have the cables on both the front and back. I'm knitting it in my brown Mill Ends cotton. This is the 4th sweater for this yarn. Valpuri, Tappen Zee and my Henry sweater for Henry.

I have some ideas for my upcoming projects. In the meantime I'll be working on Tarte.

Happy Knitting to my ones of readers!

Two Posts in Two Days

Wow a new blogging record. Two posts in two days. Imagine!

Got to head back to Knit Knite after a two week hiatus. So nice to be back. So much yarn to squish. We have a new member who also does bead work. She had some of her work with her. Gorgeous. I love glass. So pretty.

I finally sewed buttons on E's Shalom Cardi and my Tappen Zee Cardi. Pictures eventually.

Yes I'm a broken record but I love my Tappen Zee Cardigan. It's just fabulous for summer/fall. I love the brown cotton. I love the pattern. I'm thrilled with the new buttons. Just love it.

I'm less then 2 inches away from the more interesting bits on Dave's Petrol sweater vest. It's bottom up with no shaping, yawn. I get to separate the front and back and the v-neck soon. I held it up to his torso earlier tonight. So far so good.

Maybe it's time to start blogging regularly again. We shall see.

Where did August Go?

Bad blogger, spending too much time elsewhere and doing other things. Life is busy and full and I'm on the computer way too much yet I don't blog much lately.

On to knitting news!

I LOVE my Tappen Zee cardi. Love. Love. Love it! I still need to block it a tad bit larger but I've worn it quite a bit and LOVE IT.Recently purchased buttons and embroidery floss to attach the buttons. Thought I would try out embroidery floss instead of yarn or thread to attach the buttons. We shall see how that goes.

I bought buttons and floss for E's little Shalom as well. The sweater is so cute on her. So stinking excited to have matching Mother/Daughter sweaters.

I knit H a dark green vest covered in XO Hugs and Kisses cables. It's a little v-neck and it rocks. We were at my MIL's when he first got to try it on. He would not take the vest off until he had to go potty. Did not want to get poop on it. Granted poop is generally not an issue. The concern was pretty much unfounded but was sweet just the same.

I finished my Ampersands in Socks that Rock medium weight in Waterlilies. Love this yarn. Yes the legs pooled weird, yes I started them several time. Yes it's not ideal but I love them regardless. I have a squish pair of socks for my feet and some yarn left over for the sock yarn bits bag.

I'm currently working on a vest for Dave to coordinate but not match H's green vest. I don't see Dave wearing a hugs and kisses vest. I'm knitting Petrol from Knitty. Carol is a sweetheart. I'm excited to knit one of her patterns. No pics of Dave's vest yet.

In other news.

I'm trying to be more proactive about the Holidays this year. I started my master list and did a bit of shopping back last May. One of my fave Etsy sellers had a B1G1 offer I could not pass up. I hope everyone likes their gifts.

I got my CEO's Christmas Countdown binder all set up last weekend. That helps. Why must some people be so easy to shop for and some so difficult? It does not help that we only see some on our gift list only once a year, if that. It's frustrating. I resign myself to the fact that no matter what I do for the Holidays someone will get their feelings hurt. So I prepare the best I can and try to just roll along through the Holidays.

I've decided to cut out most Holiday knitting this year. Dad will most likely get socks this year instead of a hat. We shall see. There will be no grand knitting plans for the group presents. No dishcloths, pot holders, etc. I'm taking a year off.

Went thrifting today for the first time in ages. Found a super cute little denim skirt. It's a funky little pencil skirt with a bias cut ruffle on the bottom seam. Quite fun. That reminds me...

Project Runway

I'm finally watching Project Runway. Just never watched before. Oh it's fun. Would love to see more of the actual design, shopping, patterning/draping, cutting, stitching, fitting and less of the BITCHING, Backstabbing, Drama but oh well. Makes me really want to actually get my sewing machine tuned up. I've already rearranged my office space a bit to bring in my machine and tools. Want to sew. It's a matter of just doing it. Must turn off the computer more.

Tappen Zee and WIP Ampersands

There are still ends to tuck in in this pic but Tappen Zee is all finished. Ok I still need buttons and a nice blocking but it's wearable and I love it and it's finished and it's fabu in my book. Now to get decent pics in natural light at some point.

After crashing and burning with two summer sweaters with this brown cotton yarn earlier this season I was thrilled to get back in the old sweater finishing saddle with this summer cardi. It's a fab little pattern.

Ooooo I love this yarn. Behold my Socks that Rock medium weight in Waterlilies. There has been a bit of an Ampersand sock virus going around Knit Knite, lots and lots of Ampersands. Several Tappen Zee's as well. Yes I'm a knitting follower from time to time. Call me a sheeple but if I see something, especially in person, and I want to knit it I knit it. I'm loving this wip. The yarn is yummy. Yes it's pooling weird, I started the left sock three times trying for a complementary spiral like the right sock to no avail. Sometimes the yarn wants to do what the yarn wants to do.

In non knitting news most of my time is sucked up by facebook and Ravelry lately. I love to read other people's blogs, my google reader is stuffed with loads of feeds, but I am not compelled to blog. I don't feel like blogging about the mundane day to day minutia of life.

State of the Knitting Update: Quick & Dirty Edition

Goodness It's been ages, well over a month since my last post. No worries life soldiers on.

Check out my incredibly phallic recorder case I knitted up for E, complete with Hugs & Kisses cables. E picked out the yarn I picked out the cable. I was not surprisingly teased at Knit Knite for knitting on such a naughty looking wip.

It's hard to see but this is my homage to the Twilight Saga. Twilight Cabbage: The Dishcloth. It's a cabbage patch dishcloth knitted in Midnight Magic. See the lovely little cabbages all in neat little Edward approved rows just waiting for a Veggie Vamp to nom on them? Healthy! Eco Friendly! Current!

The Lovely Haruni in Stroll Tonal. I loved this yarn and the pattern and this whole knit. Gorgeous! Fantastic! Great knit! Love the FO. Love the yarn.

Look at that pretty in natural light. It's so pretty!

It's a Noro party! The newest Noro member of the Noro family is 198 yards of heaven. Great little shawlet. It's a little small for me but will be perfect for Miss E to wear with her matching legwarmers. I can wear my Shoulder Holder and we can coordinate but not match exactly. Score! Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE Noro. I can live with the knots and the slubs and the bits of straw, I love this yarn.

Another Mini Alien. He was quick, he was fast, he was dirty. Ok he was not dirty. I love this pattern.

Last up my nearly MONTH LONG Traveling Woman shawl. Knitted up in Malabrigo Sock, oh the yarn goodness. Love this yarn. Had an epic fail on the bind off, dropped two stitches which resulted in a spaghetti like mess. Got the mess back on needles, tinked back a few rows, reknit and rebound off. Success! This wip kicked my butt for a few weeks. Still love the yarn and the pattern and the fo.

I'm currently working on Tappen Zee in brown cotton. This is the third attempt for a summer sweater with this yarn. I had several projects just crash and burn this summer. Two summer tanks, a Citron shawl and a SECOND attempt at Koolhaus. Oy. The frustration! It's all good. I keep on going.

Look at me Blogging

I'm blogging! Look, fast, or you will miss it!

I finished the Valpuri, it's not a perfect mod but I'm incredibly proud of this summer sweater. I love the color, dark brown is one of my favorites.

I felt the need to knit up a little dishcloth between the recorder case pictured below and casting on the Tonal Haruni. Behold the Twilight Cabbage. The backstory is that this is a little patch of cabbages for the Vegetarian Twilight Vamps to nom on instead of humans. The colorway is Midnight Magic. Too fun!

E is playing recorder in her music class. She retested a knitted case for her new recorder to match her BELOVED knitted PIG. It's the Hugs and Kisses cable. The Knit Knite Ladies had a field day with this one.

Yay for Tonal Haruni! This pattern rocks. The charts are HUGE, so easy to read and follow. Why can't all lace charts be this big and clear? LOVE IT! Love the Stroll Tonal! Love it! I started this shawl on the first try. That's a long way from my first attempts at triangle shawls. LONG WAY.

Happy Knitting!

Product or Process?

I've been thinking about Product and Process knitting lately.

I'd like to consider myself a process knitter, that I knit for the process, for the joy of the knitting.

There is a certain thrill in every project. There is the planning, the Ravelry searching, the queue wrangling, the stash perusing and sometimes the yarn/needle buying. Then there is the cast on and the sometimes tenuous first row. There are sometimes measurements to take and mods to make.

It's all very exciting and fresh and new and fun and all wow!

Until it's not.

Invariably the project switches gears and gets a bit tedious. The cast on excitement is a fond memory. The thrill of the mod is finished and you are faced with several pattern repeats of tedium. It's not that the joy is gone, just the excitement wanes a bit while you slog through the not so exciting bits until you find yourself rounding to home and the oh so sweet bind off and finishing.

Case in point my current WIP, a heavily modified Valpuri knitted top down instead of bottom up. The prep for this mod was mindbogglingly enjoyable, thrilling even. It's not perfect but it's working and I am thrilled with this sweater's progress and I am proud of myself for working out the mods to make this first summer sweater of the season top down.

I've split the body from the arms. I just tried it on and so far so good! Squee! I estimate at least 3 to 4 more 16 row pattern repeats until I consider the bottom ribbing. Thankfully there is a bit of cabling to keep things interesting, but it's not the excitement of the yoke increases.

I'm at that point where the process gets a bit tedious. This is where my admitted selfishness kicks in, my desire for the Product keeps me moving forward.

Check out my Striped Toe Up Noro socks! Oh they are yummy. I love them! Thank you so much for the yarn Julie!!!!! They are fraternal and oh so happy! They had a few tedious spots but the color changes made for a fun knit.

I suppose I'm a bit of both a process and product knitter. I love knitting, but I also love a yummy FO.

In the meantime I'm going to work on my Upside Down Valpuri.

Two for Tuesday

Two FO's today. The Anthropology Inspired Capelet in Thick n Quick with Shoulder Holder (rav link) short row shaping for the bottom ribbing. It's a squishy and thick little sweater. I'm thinking I will wear a pin to hold the neck closed. This is my last cool weather sweater project for the season.

Check out my first attempt at an actual crochet project. I've crocheted before, mostly edging. I struggled to crochet with my right hand.

I've been thinking about learning to crochet for the last few days now, but I had to finish the Capelet first. The weather is changing and I had to get it finished. That and I just had to get it finished.

I went out on youtube and found Art of Crochet by Teresa. She has videos of stitches and projects done with the left hand.

Trying this out with the hook in my left hand was an a-ha moment for me! Yay!

I started and stopped a few times with some thick n quick and a larger hook. Then I thought Kitchen Cotton and a smaller hook would be better. I got out some sugar and cream and a size H hook from the stash, watched a few more videos and boom, a dishcloth.

The dishcloth is not exactly square or error free but it's a first real project and I am proud of myself and my fledgling crochet skills! I even get to add a new blog label, crochet!

Recent FO's

I'm way behind on my knit blogging, WAY behind. Instead of one massive post that might not get finished in this sitting I'm going to try for smaller posts. This one is dedicated to recent FO's.

I have lot's of other SUPER FUN stuff to blog but that will wait for now. Two words. Yarn Harlot!

Behold the second of two Baby Yoda hats(rav link)! This is a simple and fun little pattern that gets BIG reactions at baby showers.

I'd already been thinking about knitting baby Yoda hats for two upcoming babies when Allison asked me about knitting them. I consider myself a selfish knitter but I am happy to make the occasional exception, especially for Star Wars Loving Parents to Be and their little ones.

I knitted up my Birthday Malabrigo into a Sweet Little Nothing(rav). It's a little big around the neck but I'm not going to frog it, it's super soft and comfy and I love it.

I also knit up Wrenna from French Girl Knits in Wool Ease Thick N Quick (rav). I love this sweater, the whole book is filled with fun, sexy sweaters. This pattern is incredibly fast and easy and the sweater is super cute.

I knit up a second Modern Garden Cardigan (rav) this time on size 13's, it's a bit snug before blocking but we shall see.

Speaking of blocking I blocked this two days ago and it's still damp! I still have to add the buttons but it needs to dry first. I love this pattern.

Ok, FO's are caught up. I will save my Yarn Harlot excitement for the next post. In the meantime I'm knitting a fun little hybrid sweater for E out of my purple stash cotton. It's a mix of Oriental Lily and February Lady Sweater.

Housekeeping

Time to put down the Malabrigo and blog. This is my birthday weekend. We tend to celebrate birthdays all week at our house. I have several things to blog about but lets just start with the two skeins of Malabrigo worsted in Azalea that H and I bought at the Merc on my Birthday morning. I kept H in the stroller and let him hold the stuffed black sheep that lives near the front counter at the Merc. There was a sale going on but I only had eyes for the hanks of Malabrigo on the twirly, spinny thing at the front of the store.

The Malabrigo is going to be a Sweet Little Nothing (rav link). I'm doing seed stitch instead of 1x1 rib. I love this yarn. The only thing that would improve this knit is if I were knitting with addi turbos.

The Knitting Olympics!

I finished my mitts in plenty of time. This was a total team GK2 effort. Kim helped me learn weaving, Kristie flipped the chart, Jackie knitted up a pair of mitts as well, Ann designed our spiff GK2 Ravatars, and the GK2 team provided lots of support and motivation.

Winter Twilight Mitts (Rav project link)

Size 4 addie turbos

Knit Pick's Pallet in Asphalt and Iris heather

The mitts are a bit snug on my medium to large sized hands, but honestly I don't care. I loved the yarn, the pattern, and learning a new skill

I finished the mitts a few days before the Olympics ended. I just barely missed finishing a second project, that was never intended to be a Ravelympics project anyway. I knitted up a Modern Garden Cardigan (Rav link) in Wool Ease Thick N Quick in Cilantro on size 15 addi turbos. The needles are from the Grandma Janette stash and I love them.

The sweater came together quickly and was a fun knit. It fits me but not well. My sister was over for my birthday and I'd already decided that if it fitted her better it was hers.

Modern Garden Cardigan (Rav project link)

Size 15 addi turbos

Wool Ease Thick N Quick Cilantro 4.5 skeins

Let's just say that once she tried it on it did not come back off. Allie loved the sweater. I have already purchased more thick n quick and a pair of 13's with plans to mod a second go at this cardigan for me. It's an ingenious design, the shaping is in the leaf motif.

More birthday excitement. Check out the three pairs of mitts above. From left to right we have Jackie's Winter Twilight Mitt's, my mitts and Kristin's Endpaper Mitts. All three are in Palette. Nine members of GK2 met up on what just happened to be my birthday for a yarn filled adventure.

Apparently my backward loop cast on technique is well, different. Conversation stopped and I got quite a few stares at Knit Knite the night before. So different that I was asked to demonstrate my cast on.

We had a fun afternoon then I went back home to continue to celebrate my birthday with my family. But the picture above is a taste of how Knit Knite Ladies roll.

I had a great birthday. Great company, squishy yarn and my family, what more can a knitter ask for?